If you have been paying any attention at all to the political gaming that’s been occurring with regards to the immigration reform issue, you probably have heard a lot about costs and restrictions.  When it comes to people, you have also likely heard much about people who are currently in the United States illegally and about a potential path to citizenship or at least towards the right to remain in the country legally and on a long-term basis.  Those issues are the ones that seem to grab the headlines, and that’s likely because they are also the issues that generate the most interest and attention.

However, the immigration reform debate has begun to turn towards another large group of people who came to the United States legally, and those people are foreign workers who are here on H-1B visas.  These documents allow for people to come to the United States from other countries for the purpose of working in a particular area, and generally speaking these visas are granted because a person’s prospective employer is able to demonstrate that such a person has a unique set of skills that necessitates that he or she is hired for that company.  These types of visas have been available for many years, and for the most part they have not generated much in the way of controversy.

As we've been stating since this issue began to dominate the news, the immigration reform effort that the legislature is taking on is going to involve many different twists, turns and unexpected developments as it winds its way towards a conclusion. One of the predicted elements of this process involves studies that will deal with the potential economic impact that the immigration reform bill would have on the country. We recently discussed a Heritage Foundation study that predicted trillions of dollars in spending that was widely criticized by both sides of the political aisle.

Yesterday, another piece of research was released relating to this bill, and it dealt with the potential impact on the economy such a reform would have in several different ways. The Social Security Administration was asked to analyze the potential effects of the bill on that program, on the potential for new jobs and on the GDP. That analysis has been completed, and it contains mostly good news for people who want to see immigration reform pass through the legislature and become the new law of the land.

As we move further into the dealings that relate to federal immigration reform, we are certainly going to hear from people and groups that represent all different points on the political spectrum.  Some of these groups and interests will put forth materials that show the benefits of reforming the current immigration system and others will do the opposite.  Recently, a study with regards to this issue was released by the Heritage Foundation that offered an analysis of the potential costs of immigration reform.  That study set off a firestorm of controversy that will not be the last as we move towards some type of resolution to this matter.

The study was released in recent days and it purported to lay out all of the potential costs of immigration reform.  Its conclusion was that taking these legislative and procedural steps that would bring about some type of resolution for people who are not currently here legally would cost the public an estimated $6.3 trillion, and the study’s authors stated that this estimate was extremely conservative in nature.  In subsequent statements, representatives of the Heritage Foundation noted that this estimate deals only with the uncertainty that relates to those who are currently here illegally and not to other reforms that could come about as a result of this process.

Recent news has been filled with stories about immigration reform, as this appears to be the next big issue that Congress will attempt to tackle over the forthcoming summer.  It’s not going to be easy, it won’t be free from frustration for many people and it will likely lead to a diluted result that will be difficult for many people to understand.  It will also certainly lead to the need for legal help for millions of people who will need to begin to follow the steps laid out by whatever new law is enacted. 

This phenomenon is one that could be similar to what occurred after 9/11, in that immigration lawyers will soon be in very high demand.  Obviously, this demand will arise for different reasons, but people will still need help and advice.  Unfortunately, there appears right now to be a few problems with the legal industry’s ability to meet this demand.  Specifically, there may not be enough immigration lawyers to help everyone who needs it and there could be some out there who take advantage of the desperation felt by unauthorized immigrants and lead them towards a path of disappointment and additional legal problems.

It appears that the issue of immigration reform is going to be one that dominates the headlines all summer long as Congress looks to take on a situation that is confusing, troubling and incomplete on too many levels. Unfortunately, this process is one that’s going to be long, at times bitter and difficult for everyday people who do not watch political television all day long to understand, as this is an issue that’s filled with nuance and particularities. Sadly, the likely result of this process is that people will have serious questions about where they stand and what they need to do.

Members of the House of Representatives have announced that they will begin dealing with immigration reform next week, and it’s expected that this chamber’s process and progress is going to be quite different than what the Senate will do on the heels of the work done by the “Gang of Eight” that has put together its recommendations to clean up what is a legal mess. There will be twists and turns and unexpected developments, and no one knows at this point if these discussions, deliberations and debates will actually lead to any type of concrete solution.

Most everyone by now realizes that the student loan debt owed by Americans is staggering in terms of its amount, and several recent reports have indicated that it is approaching $1 trillion, or more than is owed by Americans to credit card lenders. You may be one of the many people around California who struggles to make your student loan payment every month on top of all of the other expenses that are simply part of living in a place that is expensive when compared to most of the rest of the country.

Even legislators are starting to notice the seriousness of this problem, and according to a recent article published by the Los Angeles Times, California Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski has put together several bills that are designed to deal with this growing problem. There are three bills overall, and if they were to become laws they would require the following:

Since the beginning of the recession, borrowing by Americans had been going down for obvious reasons – credit markets were all but nonexistent and too many people had damaged credit histories because of the plethora of financial problems people faced. At a certain point, that trend had to begin to reverse itself, and according to data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that’s exactly what has been happening over the past couple of months. People are borrowing at higher rates than they have in the recent past.

If you’re one of the many people in the United States who will be receiving an income tax refund this year, you are probably already thinking about fun ways to spend it. Tax refunds are often treated as windfalls by taxpayers even though all that is really happening is that the government is giving you back money that was always yours. You probably noticed a lot of different advertisements on the television, radio and the Internet talking about how you can use your tax refund to purchase their products, and you may have been taken in by some of these powerful and persuasive messages.

If you’re receiving an income tax refund and you’re already carrying a lot of consumer debt, you’re far from alone in that regard as well. You may even be one of the relatively few people who has already put together a plan to pay down this consumer debt over time. That’s a very positive first step, but if you’ve done this type of thing before you may already realize that such a plan is much easier formulated than carried out whether you want to admit it or not. Every month, it seems like ‘something’ comes up that forces you to put the money you had planned to use to pay down this debt to some other use. Whether it’s a car repair, a medical bill or some bill collector on an account that you may have forgotten about, you always seem to encounter something that requires that money.

Millions of people in the United States currently owe student loan debt to different borrowers, and millions of people are completely over-burdened with this type of debt. If you are one of those millions of people, you should not feel as though you are the only one dealing with this problem, as you are far from alone. You may have recently finished with your schooling and you're unable to find work that pays you enough to be able to take on all of this debt right now, or you may be unemployed or underemployed to the point where you're barely able to make ends meet.

If you are like millions of people across the United States that have experienced serious financial difficulties in recent years, you were probably forced to make some very difficult choices several times regarding which bills you were going to pay on certain months and which ones you were going to have to avoid so that you could put food on the table and keep a roof over your family’s head. No one looks forward to these choices, and no one looks forward to the beginning of the phone calls from these creditors who are looking for their payments.

$77 billion worth of student loans are currently in default. As of last year, more than 5.6 million student loan borrowers were also in default, which was defined by having failed to make payments on those student loan debts for at least 270 days. Collectively, Americans owe nearly $1 trillion in student loan debt, which is more than credit card debt for the first time in modern history. Each of these statistics continues to trend downward, and according to many experts the entire situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

As one would expect, this suffering creates opportunity for some. One of the markets that has been exploding in recent years because of all of these student loan problems is collections for these delinquent accounts. Dozens of companies spend their days chasing down borrowers who are delinquent in an attempt to convince them to start making payments on these debts. Naturally, those companies that are successful earn high commissions, and it’s estimated that the student loan collection industry generated $1 billion in revenue during the last year alone.

From the time you were a child, you were told by anyone who offered an opinion that you needed to do whatever you could to maximize your education. Even if your family was not in a position to pay for higher education, you were encouraged to apply for grants, scholarships and other forms of financial aid to help pay your tuition and other costs. You probably discovered that there were not as many of these options available to you as you once thought.

That left you with a choice – you could forego school for a while and save money in hopes that you’d return to it someday or you could borrow to continue your education thinking that your higher income that you’d earn after you graduated would be worth the risk. That’s the bet that many people made on themselves, and they were in a way enabled by those who lend this money for education. As you reviewed your options regarding student loans, you probably discovered that:

• They were easy to obtain
• They promised very low interest rates for a time
• You would enjoy flexible repayment terms
• You wouldn’t have to worry about making payments until you graduated
• You could defer those payments if you were having trouble finding work

If you are like millions of people in the United States, then you probably understand what it’s like to live with the burden of student loan debt. You have been trying to save money for months if not years so that you can afford to purchase a home, but you’ve been largely unable to do so because that enormous chunk of your net income gets lopped off the top of your personal balance sheet to make your monthly student loan payment. You know that you will not really start to get ahead until you can put down roots and make your money work for you.

You may also be familiar with other stresses that result from student loan debt. Perhaps you have encountered a mechanical problem with your car that will cost $1,000 to fix. Your car is old but you can’t afford a new one because you have to pay that much every month for your student loans to remain current. You can’t afford all of your bills that month because of that $1,000 unpleasant surprise. You need your car, so you pay that bill and decide to simply take the heat from your student loan lender until you can catch up.

We are told from a very early age that accidents happen. We tend to hear those words and sympathize with anyone who has actually lived them, but none of us ever think it’s going to be us or anyone we love. Unfortunately, too many people find out that medical emergencies can arise for anyone at any time, and people who are affected by such a circumstance often are not thinking about finances as they fight for their lives and their ability to get back on their feet.

Anyone who lived in the United States between the years of 2007 and 2012 felt the effects of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression in some way. Unemployment skyrocketed while the housing market plummeted and the credit market all but evaporated. This vicious circle left millions of people in dire straits, especially those who had suddenly lost jobs, suddenly found themselves underwater with their mortgages and suddenly found themselves unable to borrow even another cent to help make ends meet.

Experts are trying to bring attention to the issue in every way possible. Borrowers all over the country are wondering how they are ever going to get out from under a mountain of unmanageable debt and get on with their lives. People who may have an opportunity to advance their long-term financial standing are wondering if it’s even worth the time, effort and of course the expense. While this may sound a lot like the mortgage crisis that gripped the American economy in recent years, this is something entirely different, although the devastating effects could be the same if the bubble ever bursts.

We live in a capitalistic society. While most agree that this is better than any other economic system that has ever been attempted on a grand scale, it still means that the only way to make the world go around is with money. Everyone understands that it takes money to do almost anything these days – to eat, to sleep, to travel and even to sit around and watch television. The root of just about every function and need in life is money, and without it we tend to suffer immensely and in more ways than just physically.

Anyone who has suffered through serious financial difficulties understands just how deep the suffering can run when you simply don’t have the money to pay for basic things. One of the worst parts of this experience is that people often feel like they’re all alone when it comes to dealing with this problem. Since they tend to talk to no one, they are often left thinking that there’s no way out. As a result, the situation only gets worse. There are many emotions that can dominate someone’s consciousness when money is either tight or nonexistent.

People who encounter the need to file for bankruptcy protection are obviously dealing with very serious financial difficulties. When people find themselves in this position, they often feel that any money that comes their way unexpectedly is a true blessing that can be used in so many different ways that it’s difficult to even keep track of them all. This is a time of year when many people who are either already involved in a bankruptcy case or about to file may be getting ready for their tax refund. For the first time in months, people who are struggling with their finances may actually be watching their mailboxes with eager anticipation.

Many people feel that the economy is not much more than a collective exercise in psychology, as the general mental approach and state of consumers across the country has much to do with their spending and saving habits. These habits tend to help define the economy overall in terms of its progress or lack thereof. This is why the measurement of consumer confidence has been closely watched in recent years as the country has fought to free itself from the grip of the recession.

As we moved into 2013, business entities began to report several different types of statistics that related to the year 2012 and more specifically to the fourth quarter of 2012. One of the more interesting sets of data that was released involved the ‘big’ banks and their home equity lending during the fourth quarter. For the most part, this type of loan had increased greatly, with J.P. Morgan Chase reporting that it had originated more than $370 million in home equity loans during the fourth quarter alone.